Carden, East Carolina blast Southern Miss 55-14

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Shane Carden threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score as East Carolina defeated Southern Miss 55-14 in Conference USA action on Saturday.

Carden, who completed 30 of 37 passes, connected with Justin Hardy on a 1-yard touchdown strike with 10:40 left in the first quarter to open the scoring and ECU (5-2, 3-1) never looked back, racing to a 55-0 lead heading into the game's final frame.

Hardy caught 10 balls for 126 yards. His 21 career touchdown receptions are the second most in ECU history, one shy of the record set by Lance Lewis from 2010-11.

Southern Miss (0-6, 0-2) converted on just 4 of 16 third downs and was limited to 233 total yards. Allan Bridgford and Nick Mullins combined to throw for just 112 yards on 11-of-28 passing. Mullins threw two touchdowns and one interception.